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February 8, 2016

A Son's Vow {Shelley Shepard Gray}

Three
months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family.

Darla's father was responsible for a terrible fire
at Charm's lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost
his life, the town of Charm hasn't looked at her family the same since. Even
Lukas Kinsinger---with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.

Now her brother's anger at the town is spilling
over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already cost
five lives, but if something doesn't change soon, Darla fears it will cost
her---and her family---even more.

Lukas Kinsinger wants to mourn the loss of his
father, but he can hardly find the time to breathe. Suddenly the head of his
father's lumber mill and responsible for taking care of his three siblings,
he's feeling the pressure. He has also never felt more alone---especially with
the new tension between he and Darla. But when he learns of her troubles at
home, Lukas knows he can't simply stand by and watch. Someone has to help her
before another tragedy occurs.

As Lukas and Darla attempt to repair their families,
they discover something deeper than friendship growing between them. But will
Lukas and Darla's love be accepted after so much loss? Or will the pain of the
past overcome any chance of future happiness?

Shelley Shepard Gray's first book in her Charmed
Amish Life series is set in the quaint Amish village of Charm, Ohio, and tells
the stories of the Kinsinger siblings who are each struggling to find both
forgiveness and love in the face of tragedy.

My Thoughts:

While this book had a good
story with some unexpected twists, I never really felt I connected with the
characters. That lack of connection made it difficult for me to really get into
the book and the story being told.

The town of Charm is 100
days removed from a mill fire that killed five men in the community. While some
of the survivors have begun the process of moving on, some are still stuck in
the tragedy and the actions that caused the fire. It is those that are still
stuck in the past that cause drama and turmoil for the rest of the town.

Darla is the daughter of
the man accused of starting the fire. Although his name has been cleared, those
that blame him seem to blame him very publicly and without question. This has
caused Darla and her siblings to be outcasts in town, and they are struggling
to simply survive. Darla works to keep them going, and endures intense abuse
from her brother.

Through the abuse that
Darla suffers, a bond is rekindled between Darla and Lukas. Although there were
flashbacks and memory scenes, I felt we missed a lot of the background story
between Darla and Lukas. Therefore, their story felt very rushed an impulsive
to me. Although I appreciated his willingness to protect her, I felt Lukas
moved much too fast for the situation Darla was in.

A side character in this
book is Hannah. Hannah lost her boyfriend in the fire, and has moved on by
working for an English family. I actually enjoyed her story more than the one
of Darla and Lukas. I am hopeful the following books in this series will have a
focus on Hannah and the life she is creating for herself.

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a
finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award,
and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she
writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds
on her town's bike trail.